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Paper Talk
Harry Kane has dealt a blow to Manchester United's hopes of signing the Tottenham striker. He says: "I'm happy happy at Tottenham which is a great club heading in the right direction. I want to become a club legend."
West Brom striker Saido Berahino is a target for Tottenham who are happy to splash out £15m after cashing in on Roberto Soldado who moved to Villarreal.
Manchester City flop Eliaquim Mangala could be on his way to Valencia with fellow defender Nicolas Otamendi moving the other way to the Etihad.
Arsene Wenger believes "hyperactive" Alexis Sanchez's appetite to train and play should be the norm for other footballers. He came on as a sub in Arsenal's opening day defeat by West Ham, despite having less than a week of proper training under his belt.
Everton fan groups will unite on Saturday asking owner Bill Kenwright and the board to leave the club. Supporters have raised funds for a plane to fly over St Mary's Stadium at the weekend ahead of their match at Southampton.
Meanwhile boss Roberto Martinez has assured fans the club will be adding new faces before the summer transfer window closes.
Tottenham are planning transfer swoop for Crystal Palace's Yannick Bolasie after finally selling Roberto Soldado.
Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris will not replace David De Gea at Manchester United according to manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher says midfielder Lucas Leiva is likely to leave the club because he wants first-team football.
Arsenal have bid £45m for Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema and the French star is keen on a move to north London.
Questions remain over the future of Chelsea club doctor Eva Carneiro after she missed a key meeting with the club's medical staff called by Jose Mourinho on Thursday to discuss future strategy on injured players.
Slaven Bilic is hoping the emergence of 16-year-old Reece Oxford is just the tip of the iceberg because he wants to turn the West Ham academy back into the envy of the Premier League.
Manchester United are haggling with Barcelona over the £21.3m buyout clause in Pedro's contract. United are understood to have offered £17.7m plus £3.6m in add-ons in an attempt to sign the Spain star who wants more first-team football.
Mauricio Pochettino says Hugo Lloris is prepared to snub Manchester United, with Tottenham confident they will be able to deal with the knock-on effects of David de Gea's troubles at Old Trafford.
Spurs also insist Denmark international Christian Eriksen will be staying at White Hart Lane following interest from Serie A champions Juventus.
Fulham are lining up a £8m offer plus add-ons for Crystal Palace striker Dwight Gayle.
Ex-Chelsea defender Ashley Cole has had the last year of his contract with Roma terminated.
Claudio Ranieri's persistence looks to have paid off in a bid bring Napoli midfielder Gokhan Inler to Leicester.
BBC
Manchester United are in dispute with Barcelona over the £21.3m buyout clause in 28-year-old forward Pedro's contract at the Nou Camp. (Daily Mail)
West Bromwich Albion striker Saido Berahino, 22, is wanted by Tottenham Hotspur, who are ready to pay £15m after offloading Roberto Soldado to Villarreal. (Daily Telegraph)
Former Chelsea defender Ashley Cole, 34, has had the last year of his contract with Roma terminated. (Guardian)
Everton are in talks with River Plate over the £5.5m transfer of Argentine defender Ramiro Funes Mori, 24. (Liverpool Echo)
Manchester United and Manchester City target Nicolas Otamendi is close to leaving Valencia after the 27-year-old defender asked not to take part in training on Thursday because he did not feel in the right frame of mind. (AS.com)
Liverpool are set to sign Real Madrid midfielder Asier Illarramendi, 25, after the Spanish giants decided to offload the former Real Sociedad player. (Metro)
Everton fan groups have raised funds for a plane to fly over St Mary's Stadium before the club's match at Southampton on Saturday, calling for chairman Bill Kenwright to leave the Toffees. (Daily Mirror)
Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane, 22, says he is happy at the club despite being linked with Manchester United, and that he wants to become a Spurs legend. (Daily Telegraph)
Spurs say Denmark international Christian Eriksen, 23, will also be staying at White Hart Lane following interest from Serie A champions Juventus. (Daily Mail)
Following his goal in United's 1-0 win at Aston Villa on Friday, 20-year-old Adnan Januzaj has vowed to remain at Old Trafford rather than go out on loan this season. (Daily Express)
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher says midfielder Lucas Leiva, 28, is likely to leave the Anfield club because he wants first-team football. (Daily Mirror)
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri's persistence looks to have paid off in a bid to sign Napoli midfielder Gokhan Inler, 31. (The Times, subscription required)
West Ham United are close to signing Galatasaray striker Burak Yilmaz, 30, for £6.4m. (Metro)
Queens Park Rangers goalkeeper Rob Green, 35, is close to agreeing a deal to rejoin West Ham United - three years after leaving them for Loftus Road. (London Evening Standard)
Fulham are set to make an offer of £8m plus add-ons for 25-year-old Crystal Palace striker Dwight Gayle. (Daily Mail)
Norwich City are confident of beating Bologna to the signing of Roma's 24-year-old Italian striker Mattia Destro. (Norwich Evening News)
Tottenham Hotspur striker Emmanuel Adebayor, 31, is "wasting his talent" by not playing and needs to leave the club, according to former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp. (London Evening Standard)
Liverpool's France defender Mamadou Sakho, 25, is wanted by Roma on a season-long loan. (Talksport)
A poll has found 53% of West Bromwich Albion fans are in support of the club signing 32-year-old former Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton, who is available on a free transfer. (Birmingham Mail)
Blackpool fans are planning a protest against the club's owners before the first home game of the season on Saturday. (Blackpool Gazette)
Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, 29, scored two goals on his debut for Roma, who he has joined on a season-long loan, as the Italian club overcame Spanish side Sevilla 6-4 in a pre-season friendly on Friday. (@ASRomaEN)
Best of social media
"Good luck at Villarreal my friend! Happy you've got your move but going to miss you around the place," wrote Tottenham's Andros Townsend on Twitter after Spurs and Villarreal reached an agreement over striker Roberto Soldado.
Leicester City defender Jeff Schlupp posted a picture from inside his hotel room on the eve of his side's game at West Ham United. "Feet up chilling in the hotel in London before tomorrow's game," tweeted the Ghana international.
"Good luck to my bro @NathanAke at @WatfordFC, great club you will enjoy it there. Good luck for the season," tweeted Chelsea's Nathaniel Chalobah, who was at Watford during the 2012-13 season, on hearing Blues team-mate Nathan Ake is spending the rest of the campaign at Vicarage Road.
Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Peter Crouch tweeted before Stoke's visit to White Hart Lane on Saturday: "Looking forward to going back to the Lane tomorrow."
Liverpool forward Divock Origi cannot wait for the Reds' first home game of the season against Bournemouth on Monday. "Looking forward to the first home game of the season on Monday. My first experience of Anfield! #YNWA," he tweeted on Friday.
"Good win and happy to score," Manchester United's Adnan Januzaj wrote on Twitter after his winner earned his side a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa on Friday.
And finally
Fenerbahce have paid for a five-year-old Manchester United fan to fly to Istanbul to meet Robin van Persie after a video of him crying at the news of the Dutchman's exit from Old Trafford went viral. (Guardian)
The co-chairwoman of Championship side Reading has written a new song that will be played at the club's first home game of the season against Leeds United on Sunday. (getreading.co.uk)
A 9ft sculpture of former Newcastle United and England captain Alan Shearer is being shipped from China and will arrive in the UK in late August. (Newcastle Chronicle)
HITC
West Ham United readying £3.5m move for Slaven Bilic's former Besiktas favourite Atiba Hutchinson
The Hammers are after the Canadian international, who was a regular in Turkey under Bilic.
Mathew Nash
Recently West Ham United were seemingly set to sign Joey Barton on a free transfer. That deal never came off and now they are looking into potential other avenues.
One name that is now coming up is a former Besiktas star. Canadian international Atiba Hutchinson is being linked with a move to Upton Park.
Hutchinson is an energetic midfielder who can also play at full-back and would be a shrewd signing for the club at the right price.
According to a report in Fanatik the club are willing to pay a fee in the region of €5 million (£3.5 million) for the player, who was a regular feature under the management of Slaven Bilic in the Turkish capital.
Would he be a good signing?
Hutchinson maybe 32-years-old but he remains in terrific shape for a man of his vintage and would provide excellent cover in numerous positions.
Reece Oxford impressed for West Ham against Arsenal next week, but considering his age they will need another option for the midfield, where they are currently perhaps a man short.
The fact Hutchinson can also play at right-back, and at times left-back, is an added caveat of the player.
Bilic trusts him and Hutchinson might be a good addition to the West Ham crew, however, they might want to pay a smaller fee than what is being quoted currently.
Turkish Football
West Ham have made Galatasaray striker an offer for Burak Yılmaz says agent
West Ham have made Galatasaray an offer according to his agent Ogan Tarhan.
Speaking to Lig Radyo Tarhan said: “West Ham made an offer but we will not enter talks before the Galatasaray – Sivasspor game. After the game we will consider the move but the rumours regarding a €10 million offer are false we have not spoke about money.”
Hammers boss Bilic is reported to be a fan of Yılmaz from his time managing Istanbul rivals Beşiktaş over the past two seasons.
“Burak Yılmaz is a player who has scored over 60 goals in his last two seasons of course I think he is a very good striker,” Bilic was quoted as saying on Lig Tv.
The Turkish international forward netted eight goals in nine Champions League appearances over the 2012-13 season, playing a crucial role in Galatasaray reaching the quarter-finals that year.
Yilmaz still has four-years left on his contract and is the first-choice striker at Galatasaray who booked a place in the Champions League for the fourth consecutive season.
The 29-year-old striker played an important role in the Lions winning the league title for a record 20th time last season.
Galatasaray take on Sivasspor in their opening game of the 2015-16 Super Lig season on the weekend.
West Ham beat Arsenal in their opening game of the Premier League season 2-0 last week at the Emirates.
OS
Tactically speaking - Leicester City
In-depth analysis of how Leicester City might attack this afternoon’s Barclays Premier League fixture, and how Angelo Ogbonna could be an influential figure for West Ham United – with WhoScored.com...
Leicester City
Effective is probably the best word to sum up Leicester City’s style of play, both in Claudio Ranieri’s first match in charge and under predecessor Nigel Pearson.
A week ago, the Foxes attempted 100 passes fewer than opponents Sunderland, while they were forced to make seven more clearances and seven more interceptions than the Black Cats.
Sunderland also won 25 aerial duels to Leicester’s 16, yet the latter ran out comfortable 4-2 opening-day winners at the King Power Stadium.
The main reason was that Ranieri’s Leicester were far more efficient when they had the ball then Dutchman Dick Advocaat’s Sunderland.
Despite having far less possession and far fewer touches, Leicester created far more scoring chances than Sunderland, unleashing 19 shots to eleven and seizing on repeated mistakes made by their opponents.
While the speedy England forward Jamie Vardy and his new strike partner, Japan international Shinji Okazaki, both caught the eye, it was Leicester’s wide men who caused the majority of the damage to Advocaat’s side.
In the first half, Leicester unleashed a staggering 82.9 per cent of their attacking raids in the wide thirds of the field, and just 17.1 per cent down the centre. At half-time, they led 3-0, despite enjoying just 46.3 per cent of possession.
On one flank, the hard-working Marc Albrighton provided two assists from his outstanding crosses, the first for Vardy and the second for fellow winger Riyad Mahrez.
Mahrez then used his own trickery to win a penalty, which he duly converted past Costel Pantilimon to make the game safe within 25 minutes. Seven minutes after half-time, he was the width of the post away from completing a hat-trick.
Then, to add the cherry to the icing on the top of the opening-day cake, Albrighton himself added the fourth to stem any Sunderland hopes of launching an unlikely late comeback.
So, what does last weekend’s Man of the Match Mahrez do so well when allowed to operate in wide areas. Well, quite a lot, actually!
The 26-year-old, who was deployed to less effect in a more central position under Pearson, has pace, skill, the ability to dribble and pass and shoot the ball accurately.
Playing ‘inverted’ on the right flank, Mahrez cut inside repeatedly onto his stronger left foot, causing havoc in the Sunderland defence and giving left wing-back Patrick van Aanholt nightmares.
Moments after Lee Catterrmole had fouled the Algerian for the penalty which led to Leicester’s third goal, the midfielder was substituted – after just 30 minutes.
Leicester are far from being a one or even two-man team, though.
At the back, Kasper Schmeichel is a solid, reliable goalkeeper. Robert Huth and Wes Morgan are both strong, uncompromising and experienced defenders, while full-backs Ritchie de Laet and Jeff Schlupp are underrated and provide decent support to the attack.
In midfield, Danny Drinkwater and Andy King are disciplined, while forward Vardy continues to impress with his willingness to run in behind whenever the opportunity arises.
Leicester may not challenge for a UEFA Champions League place, but their wingers will give Ranieri and the club’s supporters hope that they can fly to a comfortable mid-table finish come the season’s end.
Possible team: (4-4-2) Schmeichel, de Laet, Huth, Morgan, Schlupp, Mahrez, Drinkwater, King, Albrighton, Okazaki, Vardy
West Ham United
New signing Angelo Ogbonna produced a dominant performance in last Sunday's 2-0 opening-day Barclays Premier League victory at Arsenal.
Lining up alongside Winston Reid, the Italy international centre-back was booked early on, but ignored that setback to produce a fine debut in England's top flight. Incidentally, Ogbonna's foul on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was the only free-kick he conceded in the whole match, showing that he quickly came to terms with the pace of the game.
In total, Ogbonna made a team-high four tackles, including a superbly-timed intervention to deny Olivier Giroud a clear shooting chance in the first half.
The 27-year-old also matched defensive partner Reid in making seven clearances as West Ham held the Gunners at arm's length, particularly when they came under pressure late on at the Emirates.
Ogbonna, who also blocked one shot, completed 74.2 per cent of his 31 passes, but it was work in stopping Arsenal, rather than in launching his own team on the attack, that played such a large part in West Ham's success in north London.
Ogbonna's performance earned him a statistically-calculated WhoScored.com score of 7.33 - one of a host of impressive displays put in by the men in Claret and Blue.
*WhoScored.com is a website and one of the fastest growing in the sports industry, specialising in the in-depth analysis of detailed football data. Follow @WhoScored on Twitter.
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